vinyl hunting in nyc

[Dick Locke <wiltel!dlocke@uunet.UU.NET>]

Greetings,

I took a business trip to New York City last week.  The ostensible
purpose was to attend the "Object Expo", a conference in which
presentations relating to object-oriented software development
are given to those of us who get excited about such things.  Two
other aspects of the trip were exciting for me; I got to meet up
with some old friends who are in the process of moving to Connecticut,
and I got to do some serious (used, vinyl) record shopping!

Aside: Vinyl is a lot more interesting to shop for than CD's, if only
because you frequently can check out something you're not real
familiar with much more cheaply than with a CD.  You can usually
get between 2 to 5 times more titles per $ with vinyl...

I stayed in Midtown Manhattan, so only places within a short subway
ride or walk were interesting.  I was primarily interested in vinyl,
but I have some comments on CD issues too.  Here, in no particular
order, is the scoop on various used record stores in Manhattan:

Academy, on 18th St.  THE BEST!  This store has a decent if not huge
selection of popular music, excellent selections of classical/opera.
Not only did this store have excellent quaility vinyl, but also it
had excellent prices.  I picked up a number of near mint albums for
only $2!  [CSN&Y "So Far" and Joni Mitchell's "Hissing of Summer Lawns",
e.g., but I spent most of my $ on classical
stuff].  You can move around in this store and it's well-organized.
It has a very high turnover and only accepts cash and checks.

Skyline, right across the street from Academy.  Large selection of
pop, but extremely difficult to get at due to cramped aisles and
layout.  Quality seemed variable.  I didn't have enough time to deal
with the place.

Finyl, 2nd Ave bet. 5th and 6th.  Specializes in 50's and 60's rock.
Excellent quality, with high-ish but reasonable prices.  (Kind of
a rough neighborhood, too.) Found some treasures here such as
a mint Burning Spear "Social Living" & a mint Van Morrison I'd
been looking for.  Takes plastic.

Venus, St. Marks Pl., near the above; interesting neighborhood.  I
guess this is kind of east/south village, eh?  Anyway, this street has
about 4 record stores within a stone's throw of each other.  Venus
seems to specialize in newish wave stuff.  I found a Sly and Robbie
"Taxi" sealed, which I've been looking for since I lost access to my
college friend's copy.  Picked up some REM for $3 and $5 bucks.  Quality
was variable and prices varied appropriately by quality.  I found
a real steal: "Introducing the Beatles", in very good condition, for
$4 bucks in the "just arrived" bin.  Someone either didn't know what they
had or was in a very generous mood; mint copies of this run $50 and up,
depending on exactly which version it is.  Credit cards OK!

???, right across the street from the above, one floor up from the
street.  So-so selection in this cash only store, but I actually found
a gem here in a "Phil Specter's Greatest Hits" 2bl album in mint
condition, also found a sealed "Atlantic Soul" 2bl album.  They had
a ton of Siouxse sealed albums, about 5 titles..  Prices highish
but reasonable.

2nd hand rose on 6th Ave @ 14th -- SUCKS -- good selection, very
poor quality, very high prices.  'nuff said.

Footlight on 12th St. This place is a trip.  They specialize in
broadway show soundtracks.  I don't recall any classical, but
they definitely have a decent pop section, great "vocalist"
sections, and they may have one of the best broadway/soundtrack
selections.  Prices were quite high, as was quality.  I picked up
some Billie Holiday albums, McGarrigle's "Dancer with Bruised
Knees" (a backup copy), and Roches "Nurds", among others.

Gryphon on 72nd St., G & A also on 72nd St. - both stores specialize
in classical vinyl.  Highish prices but good quality.  G&A has a
good selection of soundtracks and "vocalists".  Got some Billie
Holiday bootlegs G&A (!), as well as soundtracks from 2001: and
Mission.  Gryphon was very cramped!  You're best off having a list
of specific "wants" at both of these stores.  G&A caters to
audiophiles, and has a bunch of "No Casual Browsing" signs!

Tower Outlet, somewhere near 4th St & 4th Ave.  Lot's of
vinyl closeouts but the titles were very limited.  Used pop
titles sucked.  Prices were good.  They had 1000's of used
classical albums appropriately priced, but IN NO ORDER!!!
You'd need all day to look at them; I didn't have the time.

Anyway, if you ever get to Manhattan I hope you find this
useful!


-Dick